"Dean?" You breathed out, not even attempting to move away from his grasp. Just seeing him there made you realize how much you had missed him. How much he truly meant to you. He looked rough around the edges, with dark circles under his eyes. It made you realize that you had done that to him. You had messed with his emotions, made him hurt when you had just been trying to protect him all along. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was planning on helping a friend, no, not a friend. Family. I was planning on helping family with a hunt. But when I arrived at his motel room, all I could smell was your distinctive perfume. I could see the guilt on his face, and I knew right away that he had run into you. What I want to know is what made him not say anything in the first place?" He said softly, his face carefully schooled to show no emotions.

"I asked him not to. Just for a little bit. Please don't be made at him." You pleaded.

"Oh, I'm not mad at him. I'm not mad at all. I'm just disappointed that you would make Bobby lie to me, just so you would have time to run away again. But that's what you're good at, isn't it? Running away without a word." He grumbled, his grip tightening on your arm.

It was then you tried to pull away, his grasp tight enough you knew there would be bruises there. Glancing down, he saw how tight his hand was, and he pulled away as if you had burnt him. Sighing, he ran his hand along his mouth. "Can we not do this out here? Please?"

Stepping aside, you let him into your apartment, and his eyes immediately went to the bags laying next to the door. You could see how tense his body was, how hard he was trying to stay under control, and in a way you wanted him to just open up and let it all out. Have him scream and yell at you instead of this cold shell that you hated. "Dean, sit. Then we can talk."

Sitting down on the only chair in the room, he crossed his arms, waiting for you. You sat down on the couch across from him, nervously fiddling with the rip in your jeans. "Where do I start?"

"From the beginning is always a good thing." He muttered. "I read the letter, but I'd like to hear it from your lips if you wouldn't mind."

Nodding, you took a deep breath. "Dean, before I start I need to say this. I never wanted to hurt you. It was never my attention."

He chuckled darkly, but didn't say anything. "I pushed you away after that hunt because my parents forced me to. It was either push you away, or watch them kill you, and I couldn't have that. Please see that I was trying to protect you."

"By breaking my heart?" He asked, his words breaking at the end, showing you exactly how hurt he was. Dean didn't like to broadcast his feelings, you knew that. But by saying those words he had admitted so much, and it clawed at your heart to know you had done that to him. "Didn't you think we could protect ourselves? I'm a freaking hunter! Killing Demons is my job!"

"But they were my parents!" You exclaimed. "You knew them, and even though you had promised to avenge me, you would have second guessed yourself. They were strong Demons, and I couldn't take the chance!"

"So, you went willingly with them, just to save me?" He spat, standing up and pacing the small room. "Why did you stay with them that long? Why didn't you contact us?"

"Because..." You started, unsure how to get him to understand. You had done it all for him, but that thought seemed to tick him off. "I went with them to save you. But then I couldn't get away. They were worse than my parents had ever been, and there were times I couldn't even move."

Dean slamming his hand into the wall stopped your story, and you could see the frustration flowing through him. "That's my fault!" He yelled, turning to face you. "I promised you they would never touch you again! I don't care that they were demons. I promised you, and then you went with them, and I couldn't protect you. I wasn't there when you needed me!"

"Dean, please. I was the one to push you away. I was the one who went willingly with them. I told Cas not to tell you anything!"

"Cas knew?" He asked quietly, and you realized the Angel had kept your secret just like you had asked. Even when Dean had been given the note, Cas had never spilled your story.

"Yes. I prayed for him one day, when the pain was too much, and he came to me. He wanted to help me, to get me away from my parents."

"Why didn't you let him?" He asked you, coming to sit down next to you. "Why did you keep yourself in danger?"

"Because that way I knew what their plans were. I wanted to make sure they stayed far away from you. And I wanted to kill them myself." You muttered, grateful that you had exacted your revenge.

"But you killed them?" He asked, and you nodded. "That's why you were in the hospital?"

"Yes. They attacked me, but I was able to get my revenge. They will never be able to hurt me again. I know you wanted to protect me, to kill them yourself. But Dean, I needed that. I needed to end that part of my life."

"But then, you ran at the hospital." He spoke softly, replaying the time in his mind. "Because I wouldn't listen?"

"I was just away from my parents, and everything was different. I tried explaining things, but you were being Dean. Headstrong, stubborn, and hurt. I was ready to test out this new world, where I didn't live under my parents thumb anymore, and I figured you would probably never forgive me for the hurt I put you through. So, I ran, because it was the only thing I could think of."

"So, where do we go from here?" He asked, not just you, but himself as well.